McKinney, Texas, is full of delicious restaurant options, from barbecue to pizza. Sometimes, though, you might be looking for a healthy meal instead, and our town has some really unique and special restaurants. All of us here at Huffines Hyundai recommend these five spots for delicious, healthy food.
Harvest
Image via Flickr by wuestenigel
For the past seven years, Harvest has been connecting the products from local North Texas farms and artisans with the residents of McKinney. At least 70 cents goes to local producers for every dollar they spend. Proteins and produce are sourced within 150 miles, and the menu changes four times a year according to what’s seasonally available. This ensures that the dishes are nutritious and rich in flavor.
An example menu features starters like deviled eggs with a Southern twist of beet chow chow and candied pecans or spinach hummus made with healthy greens and a pecan raisin vinaigrette. A variety of salads include a hearty spinach and baby kale offering with fennel, farro, blue cheese, pecans, and brioche croutons with a light citrus vinaigrette.
Fish, poultry, and beef selections are served with thoughtful vegetable sides and include blackened striped bass served with black rice, acorn squash, kale, and caulilini (a long-stemmed tender cauliflower similar to brocollini), or a grass-fed filet served with cauliflower-potato mash, pickled cauliflower, crispy kale, tangerine puree, and sorrel. There are gluten-free options as well.
As you enjoy your healthy, sustainable food at Harvest, you can also feel good about sitting at the tables made by local artisans, enjoying the flowers grown by local farmers, using coasters from previous menus, drinking from repurposed wine bottles, and using napkins laundered at the restaurant.
Patina Green Home and Market
For a farm-to-table lunch experience, Patina Green Home and Market offers an ever-changing menu to serve the freshest seasonal ingredients alongside a shop with carefully curated gifts and food items for the discerning buyer. The menu is rich with sandwiches, salads, and sides made from nutritious vegetables and protein sources.
The changing menu may feature a variety of vegetarian options, such as the sweet potato and mushroom bahn-mi, which is packed with vegetables and herbs, including carrots, radish, and cucumber relish, cilantro, and garlic chives served on ciabatta with a red chili aioli. A spicy cheese sandwich features a roasted poblano with beer cheese and pepper jack on jalapeno cheddar sourdough. A roasted cauliflower sandwich comes piled with raw cheddar, arugula, and green tomato relish.
On the side, this is not your standard bag of chips. Homemade selections include a cup of tomato bisque soup, red potato salad, beets, and blue cheese, or roasted vegetables served with pimiento cheese. Be sure to stop in the market for packaged food products, wine, and gifts.
Starwood Cafe
Texas’ own Starwood Cafe has several locations around the state serving a delicious breakfast and lunch menu, including two locations in McKinney. Breakfast is served all day in the beautifully designed modern and airy restaurants with unique decor and plants to make you feel right at home.
For breakfast and brunch lovers, the extensive menu provides plenty of healthy choices. Farm fresh eggs cooked any style are served with grilled asparagus, and the Tuscan omelet is filled with fresh spinach, wild mushrooms, asparagus, and provolone with your choice of fresh fruit, grits, or hash browns on the side and pancakes or toast (gluten-free available).
You can also order a stack of multi-grain pancakes, which are served with warm maple syrup. At the same time, the Starwood favorite breakfast power bowl is filled with five nutritious grains (red and white quinoa, wheat berries, barley, and wild rice) served with two eggs and chicken apple sausage for extra protein.
On the lunch menu, healthy options include a chicken pomodoro panini with roasted chicken breast, spinach, roasted red peppers, provolone, and pesto mayo. Hearty salad options include the Mediterranean, which is packed with fresh vegetables, including mixed greens, cucumber, tomatoes, kalamata olives, red onion, roasted red peppers, and balsamic vinaigrette. Add roasted chicken breast to make it a complete meal.
Roll & Poke
Roll & Poke has a menu full of light and refreshing poke bowls and sushi rolls made with the freshest seafood. Start your bowls with your choice of base: white or brown rice, sushi rice, or salad. From there, you add two or three proteins, with favorites like raw spicy tuna or salmon, fried tofu, or grilled chicken, and then add flavorful mix-ins. You can add vegetables like corn, edamame, or cucumber, and herbs like cilantro and wasabi. Make it as spicy or as sweet as you like with sauce choices.
The sushi menu offers sashimi, options including salmon, yellowtail, and spicy albacore. Choose from 20 different tempura rolls, with raw and cooked seafood like rock shrimp, calamari, or scallops. Try a California roll with crispy fried onions or a spicy tuna roll with avocado and scallions. The Texas roll pays homage to our great state with fresh salmon, tuna, yellowtail, crab meat, cream cheese, and avocado.
For those in your party who don’t prefer fish, Roll & Poke has a chicken teriyaki bowl with onion and mushrooms over rice, along with a marinated beef bulgogi bowl.
Home Kabob & Bakery
The Mediterranean menu at Home Kabob & Bakery is filled with nutritious and healthy options like hummus, baba ganoush, or grape leaves stuffed with tomato, rice, onion, parsley, lemon, and spices. Fresh salads like tabbouli, a Lebanese cucumber, tomato, and garlic salad, or Greek salad with homemade dressing go great with a charbroiled tender lamb skewer, chicken shawarma, or a chef’s special marinated grilled salmon. Special vegetarian plates feature crispy falafel, grilled vegetables, or a salad combination plate.
So there you have our list of McKinney restaurants with healthy food choices. Whether you’re looking for farm-to-table dining or fresh and healthy cuisine from other countries, we love these spots. Are there any we missed? Feel free to contact us to let us know your favorite places in McKinney. We love to support the healthy restaurants that make our community great.